This Backyard Barn Is Actually a Guest House—and the Inside Is Unbelievably Beautiful

When a Swedish cosmetics company exec bought a farm in Upstate New York, she took an understated Scandinavian approach to achieve stateside pastoral bliss.

By
Caroline Collins McKenzie

Sep 5, 2017

Annie Schlechter

A farm life in Upstate New York was the last thing on Gun Nowak's mind eight years ago, but 12 acres and a few renovations later, she's living just that. "I split my time between the U.S. and Sweden," says Gun, who owns the cosmetics company FACE Stockholm. "I live in the country in Sweden— why would I want to do the same here when New York City is just around the corner?" she says. But when her daughter and business partner, Martina, settled in the Hudson Valley, Gun purchased a farm nearby in 2009 as an investment property.

The rural retreat remained largely out of sight and out of mind for two years while she rented the main farmhouse to a few grad students. Then one day, she stopped by and had an immediate change of heart. "I thought, 'These are my lilacs. These are my fields. This is my house. This is my view. And it's beautiful!' " she says. She politely asked the renters to vacate on the spot, and during the next few years, she cleared brush, freshened up the Victorian farmhouse, and worked hard to make the property her primary stateside residence, trading city chaos for country calm.

The biggest project? The "sad, old barn," says Gun. "It was totally rundown. It was just like a circus—bright red and a lot going on and a lot falling apart." But from the start, she had a clear vision of what it could be: an airy guesthouse with a two-story wall of windows overlooking the scenic Catskill Mountains. Her contractors, however, were less confident. They worried that the dilapidated structure wouldn't support so much glass, but Gun stuck to her, well, guns. "That was a moment," she says. Initially, the barn swayed back and forth as sprawling steel beams were positioned to reinforce nine 5- by 5-foot windows. "Even so, I was willing to take a chance for the view," she says.

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Exterior

Annie Schlechter

With the windows firmly in place, Gun set her sights on replacing the chipping red paint with a warm custom gray. She chose the custom neutral shade because, depending on the light, it can take on shades of violet, pink, or green. While the neighbors were initially less excited about the cool, nontraditional shade, one very important fan voiced his support immediately. "My little grandson was about 3 years old when I painted it," she says. "He saw it and said, 'Grandmom, it's really beautiful!' "Gun placed horseshoes over the doorways of the barn as tokens of good fortune.

Inside, Gun went for an equally clean, serene look, transforming the dark space with paneling and floors painted a barely there shade of gray, both of which perfectly enhanced the newfound natural light and upped the open-and-airy factor. To maximize space in the 1,200-square-foot structure, she used wood salvaged from the window install to create a loft in the once-cavernous barn, complete with a dreamy bed and bath.

Downstairs, she struggled with more practical matters. "Kitchens can sometimes overpower an open floor plan," says Gun. Because she didn't want to take away from the less-is-more aesthetic, she embraced a neutral, Scandinavian-inspired kitchen design and anchored the space with an expansive marble-topped antique table. Gun added no-frills essentials like a stainless steel sink, stand-alone stove, and floating shelves to display her handsome collection of Swedish pottery.

When it comes to the other furnishings, Gun acknowledges that her Swedish roots influence her eye. A self-professed furniture hoarder—"I've tried to collect something smaller and more practical, but I just love furniture!"—she already had the inventory to fill the barn and then some.

Ornate, handsomely caned Swedish pieces dating back to the late 1700s might not be everyone's natural choice for outfitting a barn, but Gun likes to mix them with American antiques—found at nearby Finch Hudson and Red Chair on Warren—as well as some newer (sturdier!) pieces of furniture.

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